A long sunny walk around the 6.5km Waveney Trail today but it was a tad on the boring side for birds. Plenty of signs of spring amongst the common resident birds but nothing too much to bother the scorers. A couple of 'squealing' Water Rails, displaying Little Grebes, 2 Siskins, c4 Reed Buntings, 2 Common Buzzards, Shoveler, Gadwall, Teal and my first butterfly of 2016 - Small Tortoiseshell was about it.
In the summer I'm going to make a point of trying to nail Fen Raft Spider here.
Back at home an Early Bumblebee was my first bumble of the year.
Much closer Lapland Buntings! Blakeney, 12 March 2016
After Belinda took care of a little business this morning we headed up to North Norfolk to get her a pait of bins I'd been promising her for our trip to Borneo. Cley Spy came up trumps with a nice pair of Bushnell 8x42s which I have to say are impressive for £129! A Common Buzzard there proved useful for Belinda as she trid them out. The traditional lunch from Picnic Fayre followed and then Belinda got to try here new bins out on the Lapland Buntings along Blakeney Bank. This time they showed much closer which was what I'd been hoping for! In all there were at least 7 with a few Skylarks and c3 Reed Buntings but still no Twite for me. We finished with a 4 mile walk from Blakeney up to Wiveton Downs.
Another Cattle Egret, 6 March 2016
A walk around North Cove and Barnby this lunch time was a case of dodging the heavy hail and sleet showers but luckily we managed it without getting too wet. The Cattle Egret was found on the 2nd look after our circular walk but it proved quite flighty, probably due to the farmer tending his Highland Cattle. 3 Cetti's Warblers were along the river with one seen when flushed out of a shallow ditch. There were plenty of winter thrushes about too with a few Redwings and many more Fieldfares and a single distant Marsh Harrier.
Countdown to Borneo!
With just 3 weeks to go the countdown is on - in reality I've been counting down for ages!
Hopefully my pre-ordered Birds of Borneo field guide due out on 10 March will arrive in time!
Our itinerary includes Kota Kinabalu, Tangang Aru Beach, Klias Wetlands, Mount Kinabalu NP, Poring Hot Springs, The Crocker Range, Sepilok, Kinabatangan River, Gomantaong Caves, Danum Valley and Mantanani Island and I can't wait to get stuck in!
As usual it'll be a steep learning curve with no specific targets which is how I prefer to roll on our foreign trips. The only place we'll have a guide is the Kinabatangan Jungle Camp where we have several boat trips along the river including a night trip or two.
Obviously the mammals like Oran-utang, Proboscis Monkey and Pygmy Elephant are high on Belinda's agenda!
Hopefully my pre-ordered Birds of Borneo field guide due out on 10 March will arrive in time!
Our itinerary includes Kota Kinabalu, Tangang Aru Beach, Klias Wetlands, Mount Kinabalu NP, Poring Hot Springs, The Crocker Range, Sepilok, Kinabatangan River, Gomantaong Caves, Danum Valley and Mantanani Island and I can't wait to get stuck in!
As usual it'll be a steep learning curve with no specific targets which is how I prefer to roll on our foreign trips. The only place we'll have a guide is the Kinabatangan Jungle Camp where we have several boat trips along the river including a night trip or two.
Obviously the mammals like Oran-utang, Proboscis Monkey and Pygmy Elephant are high on Belinda's agenda!
Whitehead's Broadbill would do nicely!
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